Risk and Reward
by S.S. Endurance
Summary: Pre-Yamatai fluff, set a few months after Lara and Sam meet as university roommates. Confusion, infatuation, all that fun stuff. Rated T but could possibly change to M in later chapters.


I felt that my previous story wasn't going anywhere, and wanted to start a fresh fluff piece, partially because I wasn't interested about involving the events of Yamatai. If you have constructive criticism/ideas/whatever, feel free to PM me.

I don't believe in love at first sight, but Samantha Nishimura definitely captivated me. One of the first things I noticed about her was that it's slightly difficult to understand her American accent, especially considering how quickly she talked when she was excited. She had been my uni roommate for a few months now and our weekend about to be spent like many before it: Sam dragging me along to a crammed dorm and drinking with people I'd only spoken to when I became tipsy enough to stop being shy. It had been dark for hours as we were walking across campus to her friend Anthony's room, who was hosting a small get together.

The air felt calm, disrupted only by my boots that crunched on the gravel. I didn't need to look down at Sam's feet to know she was wearing heels, but I did anyway. They matched the blue cocktail dress she was wearing, which clung to her lean figure in all the right places. God knows Sam would never miss an opportunity to dress up.  
"How you wear those without your feet snapping off is beyond me," I remark.  
"Lara, we've been over this. Beauty is pain, and these heels...are quite painful, yes. But that's only because they're new!"  
"My outfit is very comfortable, what are you trying to say?"  
"There's an exception to every rule," Sam said as she locked eye contact me, a smile spread across her face.  
The idea of Sam sort of, kind of, nearly implying that I was beautiful sent blood rushing to my cheeks. The realisation of this only fuelled the fire, I turned my face away in an effort to keep her from seeing me blush, but I still felt her gaze on me.

It is utterly confusing, being infatuated with another girl. The thing about girls is they can act quite flirty with you, and it could be a sign they're interested in you, but if they're presumed straight, it's much more likely that they're just being friendly. If I was a boy, unless she was interested, Sam wouldn't have referred to me as her date, and she wouldn't have clung to my arm as we walked. I wasn't really sure what Sam was into. I knew she liked guys...she brought _way _more home than I ever did. But I'd also heard rumours of her participating in certain acts with girls also, but I'd never seen her with a girl. As for me, well, I have had a couple casual boyfriends here and there, but I was never really into it. I had heard rumours circulate about people suspecting me of playing for the other team, and come to think of it, I've never confirmed or denied it. It never bothered me, but it seemed pretty likely that they were on to something.

We were greeted by nearly a dozen tipsy students shouting our names as we walked into the room. Apparently, we were the last to arrive. The room had an all too familiar smell - cheap alcohol and bad decisions, but I didn't mind. Sam was greeted by half the group with enthusiastic hugs while I stood awkwardly next to her, giving a few shy smiles to the people I recognised.  
"Hey Lara, what's going on?" Anthony, the host, came up to me and draped one arm around me. Anthony was tall, dark and handsome. I usually felt uncomfortable when people I didn't know well touched me, but I had met him numerous times and he was so easy to hang out with, without trying to sleep with you, so if anything, his friendly arm around me made me feel comfortable.  
"Hey Anthony, thanks for the invite."  
"You're always welcome here, drinks are in the fridge."  
He left as soon as he arrived, walking away to talk to one of the other guys, I didn't get a chance to thank him for supplying all the alcohol, which was quite a feat on the budget of a standard student.

For most of the night, I could be found leaning against the wall, drink in hand, talking to Sam or Anthony or whoever else approached me. Watching Sam at parties had always been entertaining, she was always the life of the party. And she seemed to constantly get the attention of guys, even though she didn't act trashy, as some other girls did. Anthony and I were talking about our classes with the slightest hint of slurring when I noticed it. No more than a few metres away was Sam, with some guy all over her. She wasn't kissing him or anything but it was obvious what he was hoping for. I had seen this situation a dozen times before, and it never really bothered me until now. I could hear Anthony speaking but, unintentionally, I didn't listen to a word.  
"Lara...you okay?" Anthony noticed my dazed expression, and then followed my eyes to Sam.  
"Yeah I'm good. Sorry, my head's a little fuzzy, hold my drink for a second? I'm going outside, need fresh air.."

I left Anthony clutching both of our drinks as I walked outside, the cold air hit me all at once, but I didn't mind, it was refreshing. I slumped down next to the door and took a moment to appreciate the feeling of the cool cement on my skin. Apparently my performance wasn't too convincing, as moments later, out came Anthony, who joined me on the ground.  
"Come on mate, I know what's up," he prodded, eyebrows raised. I didn't feel like he was accusing me in the slightest. He was still holding both of our drinks so I reclaimed mine and took a swig out of it. I was tipsy and he was ready to listen, so with little hesitation, I told him everything. I never would have done so sober, but he is just so damn easy to talk to.  
"I've seen the way you look at her," Anthony admitted, "and I've seen her look at you the same. No one's said anything, so you're safe there. I'm not sure anyone else has noticed actually. I can't be certain, it's just a vibe I get from you two."  
We sat in silence for a while but it wasn't awkward. I played with the bottle label, peeling it off bit by bit. I mulled over his words and came to a conclusion: I need to put myself out of my misery and actually do something about this. I don't know whether it was the cheap booze, the information I just received or both, but the idea of confronting this didn't seem so daunting anymore. With an uncommon surge of confidence I stood up, leaving my bottle on the ground.

I had a quick scan of the room but Sam wasn't in sight. There's no way she could have walked out the front door without me noticing. Right? I don't _think_ anyone left while I was out there. Oh wait, the bathroom. Sam constantly needed to pee when she drank, once she had 'broken the seal', as she called it. My mind filled with anticipation, but to my surprise, it was empty. The bathroom door creaked slightly as I re-entered the room, and there she was, in plain sight. And I swear my heart skipped a beat when I saw it, Sam and that same boy, passionately kissing, their arms around each other.


End file.
